Every Friday, journalists from euronews’ various language teams choose a selection of stories from Europe and beyond which did not reach the international headlines

Iraq: Young hero braves mines to lead family to safety from ISIL

He is only a boy but Ahmed Ali Rashed is Iraq’s new national hero. According to local media,
the youngster was fleeing with his father, family and others from territory controlled by ISIL when they encountered a minefield ahead.

Ahmed’s father was ready to confront the danger first, putting his own life on the line so as to ‘clear the way’ for the group. But Ahmed, described as under 15 years old, convinced his dad not to do so, because if he should die, Ahmed and his brothers and sisters would become orphans and nobody could protect them anymore. Instead, Ahmed himself took the risk and found a secure way to get across the minefield, saving the lives of 165 people.

Ahmed survived and local authorities thanked him warmly for his help.

New Zealand: ‘Glamour puss’ handbag – made from a dead ginger cat!

It is the ultimate feline fashion accessory – but a taxidermy cat bag sold at auction in New Zealand has outraged animal lovers, with some branding it ‘disgusting’.

‘No animals were killed or hurt to create this piece,’ says the New Zealand auction site TradeMe which sold the bag to a bidder for NZ$545 – that is just over 350 euros.

Taxidermist Claire Third let the cat out of the bag by revealing she made the ‘one off glamour puss purse’ from a feral cat she had found squashed by a car in the countryside.

Human rights groups accuse the country of trying to conceal a massive, state-orchestrated forced labour system that underpins its position as the world’s fifth-largest cotton exporter. They cite regular arrests, intimidation and harassment of activists.

Venezuela: Footballers robbed on team bus

Six armed men hijacked a bus carrying Venezuela’s Trujillanos football team and stole most of the players’ and coaching staff’s belongings.

The club was heading home, having lost 2-1 at Monagas on Sunday, when their bus was targeted in the early hours of Monday near Boca de Uchire in the eastern state of Anzoategui.

The team was held up for 2hr 35min, Trujillanos said. It said the armed men had threatened to detonate grenades to destroy evidence if the bus had a GPS or was under escort. None of the team members were hurt.